Buried check reveals its secrets -- Found treasure belonged to Clark, a train engineer
By Ronald Dupont Jr.
Herald Editor

Photo By Jamie Walker Linda Clark Gestrin said she nearly cried when she saw a photo of a 1930-era check (right) found in the dirt under a home a few weeks ago. An expert on her family history, Gestrin immediately recognized the signature as belonging to her grandfather, Hamilton Clark Sr. (pictured on right in the photo she is holding). She thinks the numbers on the back are check numbers on the left and rent payments on the right. Her grandfather was a High Springs train engineer.

HIGH SPRINGS — When Hamilton Clark Sr. used to finish a day's work as one of High Springs' train engineers in the 1930s, he would walk over the many rail lines running parallel to U.S. 27 and cross what is now Northwest Ninth Street to head to his home at 730 NW 4th Avenue.

On one particular day, he pulled out his wallet and unknowingly dropped a check onto the ground. On the back was scribbled in pencil what likely were rent payments and check numbers. Clark even signed his name at the bottom of the payment list.

The check somehow got pushed deep into the dirt.

A home was built over the land where Clark dropped his check. Amazingly, as Clark's check was pushed deeper and deeper into the dirt over time, the dirt preserved the check, rather than destroying it.

Roughly 70 years later, David Williams was sent to repair an air-conditioner at that home. As he crawled under the house, digging around, Williams found the check and realized he had found buried history.

When a photo of the check was published in The High Springs Herald last week, a neighbor of Linda Clark Gestrin called her. Gestrin was on her way to Orlando.

"I'll bet you anything that's your grandfather," the neighbor said, explaining the newspaper article.

Gestrin couldn't wait to get back to town. When she opened The Herald and saw the signature on the back of the check, she nearly cried.

Her grandfather, whom she loved so much, had reached across time and said hello.

Gestrin has been collecting information on her family — particularly the Wilson family — for years and knows her family tree intimately. She has hundreds of photos and attends an annual family reunion where she brings poster boards of photos.

In this photo from when Hamilton Clark Sr. was a train engineer, the original High Springs train depot (now the Station Bakery in the downtown area) can be seen on the left-hand side. The white blur on the top left-hand side of the photo is believed to be what was once the Thomas Motel at 9th Street and First Avenue.

She knows her grandfather's handwriting and was able to compare the writing on the check with train logs her grandfather kept when he was an engineer. The handwriting matches.

"This is something, really something," Gestrin said, nearly shaking as she held the 1930-era check. "My husband said it's amazing (that Williams) didn't throw this away when he found it."

Hamilton Clark Sr. has a storied history in High Springs. He was married to Lula Wilson Clark and was well known in High Springs as one of its preeminent train engineers, driving the mighty engines to far away places.

"He was the astronaut of his time," Gestrin said.

Folks called him "Mr. Hamp." He even appeared in a 1961 edition of The High Springs Herald for his gardening skills.

When he retired from the railroad, he was honored in a special ceremony held at Barber's Restaurant, near where Floyd's Restaurant is now located.

His granddaughter, Linda Clark Gestrin, knows the details of her grandfather's life quite in-depth. She had the honor of knowing him while he was still alive and continues to gather stories about him.

But last week, as she opened The High Springs Herald, history reached out and touched her. Her grandfather had one last story to tell.

Hamilton Clark Sr. and his wife, Lula Wilson Clark.